


Stars in Autumn

by hoodenpyle



Category: Captain Marvel - Ambiguous Fandom, Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Captain Marvel - Freeform, Carol Danvers - Freeform, Gen, I love them all, Kara Danvers - Freeform, alex danvers - Freeform, because danvers duh, in which everyone is related, little!danvers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-29 20:09:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10143017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoodenpyle/pseuds/hoodenpyle
Summary: AU in which Carol Danvers is cousins with Kara and Alex Danvers.A three-part story about the Thanksgiving when they first met.





	

The wind blew down the street, rustling the leaves in a whoosh. The trees groaned in protest of movement in their now empty limbs. Autumn fell gracefully on Boston like a sigh of relief that the summer heat was finally gone. Carol usually didn’t like staying inside, but days like these made sitting in the living room of the Danvers’ small house feel cozy. Even though it was football season, Carol sported her favorite Red Sox cap. She tugged at her hat as she heard her father’s ‘68 Ford truck grumble into the driveway. She settled lower into the worn yellow couch with her book pulled up, creating a barrier with the brim of her hat resting on the top of the hardback. Her wall worked as her dad walked in with a huff but ignored her wholly as he removed his dirty boots and continued into the kitchen.

  
Joe Danvers Sr. was not on good terms with his oldest daughter since announcing to her last week that he would be sending her younger brother Steve to college instead of her. It was one of the few times they spoke more than ten words to each other at a time, and it was the first time she’d ever raised her voice at him. Even though she was a junior in high school, she had started to apply to colleges. She happily told her mother, who told her father, who told her that there weren’t enough jobs out there for women with degrees yet. His words still stung her ears. Joe Sr. didn’t work his ass off every day at the factory to waste of money to send a girl to school when she could easily get a job without a fancy degree. Her brother Steve was so smart with his projects and science, and it was better for the family to invest in his education over her’s.  
  
The sharp taste of blood from biting the inside of her cheek snapped Carol out of her angry memory. She wiped the blood from her mouth and sighed, trying to let the anger roll out of her like her aunt taught her to do when Carol was little. Breathe in and let the anger out like a slow ocean wave. Just then, her little brother Joe Jr. came running into the room. His grubby six-year-old hands were holding one of Steve’s latest inventions: a small robot that could hand you a pencil out of a cup. It even had a sharpener built in.  
  
“Joe Junior, stop!” Steve tore down the stairs, taking them three at a time to catch his little brother.  
  
Joe Jr. just giggled and ran on the other side of the couch. Steve started to chase him, so Joe Jr. ran, but Steve changed directions. Joe Jr. squealed, realizing Steve was about to catch him. They chased each other in circles around the couch, while Carol just sat there in the middle and rolled her eyes.  
  
“Carol!” Steve said, breathless. “Help me! He’s going to break it!” He whined at his sister as he continued to chase their little brother. She just shrugged, keeping her eyes on her book.  
  
“Carol!” Steve grunted as he lunged for Joe Jr., who shrieked with laughter at the fun of his brother chasing him.  
  
“What is going on in here?” Joe Sr. boomed as his broad frame filled the doorway. Joe Jr. immediately stopped running and looked up at his dad with a smile.  
  
“Joe stole my project, and Carol didn’t help,” Steve griped, shoving a blaming thumb in her direction. He walked over to Joe Jr. and yanked the small bundle of metal and wire from his hands.  
  
“Carol, get off the couch,” her father snapped. “Why didn’t you help your brother?”  
  
“It’s not my problem! Steve’s the one who can’t keep his door shut so Joe Jr. doesn’t go in there!” Carol sat up, indignant that she had been roped into this fiasco.  
  
“Because you are the oldest and you are supposed to be the leader,” he crossed his arms across his chest. “You are supposed to set the example.”  
  
Carol’s blood boiled and she jumped up. Her book landed with a thud on the floor as she glared at her father.  
  
“Why don’t you set an example for Joe Jr. and teach him to not be a jerk?” She gestured wildly to her brother.  
  
Her father’s eyes widened in anger, and Steve looked at her like she was crazy.  
  
As if that was her cue, Marie Danvers walked in wiping her hands on her blue apron with a frown. The wrinkles around her mouth and eyes indicated she did that a lot.  
  
“Okay, dinner's ready and I think we all need a break,” she put her hand on her husband’s elbow. “Come on, no one can talk to each other when they have food in their mouth.”  
  
They all shuffled into the plain dining room, each taking a seat at the brown wooden table while Marie set a plate of chicken down. Joe Jr. was the only happy one at the dining table as he gleefully shoved mashed potatoes into his mouth, oblivious to the scowls that settled on the rest of his family’s faces. After a long stretch of silence, save for the sound of Steve and Carol’s angry forks stabbing innocent food to death, Marie cleared her throat.  
  
“I got a letter from Uncle Jeremiah today,” she starts, waiting for any response. After none, she continues.  
  
“He and Eliza said they have a new daughter. Her name is Kara. They invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them in Maine,” she finished, looking at her husband expectantly.  
  
“Think Eliza’s a little old to be poppin’ out kids,” Joe Sr. said finally through a bite of chicken.  
  
“Aunt Eliza’s younger than Mom,” Carol muttered, staring at her green beans.  
  
Joe Sr. just shrugged.  
  
“She is a foster,” Marie continued, unfazed by her husband’s rudeness. “Her parents died in a fire, and a friend told Jeremiah about her. They kindly offered to take her in. Plus, I think it’s nice that Alex has a sister.”  
  
“Well, at least I don’t have to worry about doing the turkey this year. Jeremiah can deal with that,” he said with a grunt as he got up from the table and dropped his plate in the sink with a clang.   
  
The back door slammed shut as her father went out to his work shed. Carol watched her mother from under the brim of her cap as Marie rolled her eyes and re-tied her frayed blonde hair back before starting the dishes. Steve did the same thing as their father, dropping his plate into the sink without even looking at their mother. Joe Jr. asked politely if he could get up and go play, to which their mother agreed with a smile at her youngest. He ran off to his room, leaving a licked-clean plate on the table.  
  
Carol went back to pushing around the contents of her plate, most of which she hadn’t eaten. She never understood why her mother let him treat her that way. She also never understood if her mom was on her side or not. One day, her mom stands up for her to her bully-of-a-father. Then the next day, she betrays her by telling him about her college applications. Not that anyone could predict her father would respond like that. At least, she hoped not. Her father had always been tough on his kids, but sometimes he was just plain mean, and most of it was to Carol. She always assumed it was because he wished he had three sons instead.  
  
She watched her mom busy herself, cleaning up the dinner she had just prepared for an ungrateful family. Marie Danvers wasn’t a small woman. After all, she had three children who were well on their way of being over 6-feet tall. But the burden of time and stress had made its home on her shoulders, and her body seemed to sag. Like all she wanted to do was sit down somewhere quiet for a little while.  
  
Carol eventually got up and brought her plate to her mother.  
  
“Sweetie, you hardly ate a thing,” her mother said softly.  
  
“I know,” Carol nodded. “I just wasn’t hungry.”  
  
Her mother sighed and shook her head slightly.  
  
“It was good though. Thanks for making dinner,” Carol suddenly gave her mom a hug. Marie put one soapy arm around her daughter. They stood in the kitchen for a quiet moment with just the wind whispering outside the window.  
  
“Everything will be okay, Carol,” her mother whispered. “You will go on and do great things, no matter who gets in your way.”  
  
She looked up into her mom’s tired blue eyes and smiled. Carol then sighed into her mom’s chest, wanting to stay in the hug for a little bit longer. Surely this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. A family full of anger that was tired of being angry. She desperately hoped Thanksgiving at her aunt and uncle’s house would be a more pleasant Danvers’ household.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for all the angsty Danvers family drama. Current canon Joe Danvers isn't that bad, but I needed him to be for the story.


End file.
